31st Mar 2015 06:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Thomas Cook PLC Tuesday said it is trading in line with management's expectations for its current financial year, having sold almost all the winter season holidays and more than half of the summer season.
It said the UK business continues to trade ahead of last year, with "significant" bookings growth driven by robust demand particularly for its Winter Sun holidays, and while trading in Continental and Northern Europe is tough compared to last year's strong performance, it has improved since the first quarter.
Online bookings and Airlines Germany bookings are both up 10% and bookings for Concept Hotels are up 20% on the year before.
However, the company did say that pricing pressure in the short and medium haul sector has led to an average selling price decline of 2% for Airlines Germany.
"Our bookings for the full year are developing well, especially in the UK and Airlines Germany. The tough trading conditions we reported previously in some markets are showing early signs of improvement, and our New Product and Winter Sun initiatives are leading to growth. I am confident that, by continuing to rigorously implement our strategy, we will further improve business performance," Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said in a statement.
When it put out its results for its last financial year back in November, the travel company had said it expected to deliver further growth in the current financial year, although at a more moderate pace.
"We are confident that our strategy of profitable growth through our new product and digital initiatives, supported by cost efficiencies, will lead to further improvements in business performance. We therefore continue to expect further growth in financial year 2015, consistent with our expectations at our full year results in November, on a constant currency basis," it said in its outlook statement Tuesday.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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